Closer to You
by SingMeALoveSong
Summary: This was not the first time she felt his double heartbeat against her skin, but it was the first time they were this close. Despite how alien, in so many ways, this Doctor was to her, she had never felt more safe than now in his arms. Spans 9, 10, & 10.5


I own nothing that you recognize.

First venture into DW, I'm sure I'll make mistakes! Plus, I'm American and have no understanding of anything British really. This will be three chapters, one for 9, 10, and 10.5.

Rose/9, Rose/10, Rose/10.5

Un-beta'ed

Closer to You

This was not the first time she felt his double heartbeat against her skin, but it was the first time they were this close. It thrilled her, just a little, even though she hardly knew this man, no Time Lord, more than a few weeks. Despite how alien, in so many ways, this Doctor was to her, she had never felt more safe than now in his arms.

She had woken abruptly earlier, dreams of a harsh voice screaming _exterminate_ causing her to fly out of her tangle of covers with a choked sob. Not knowing what she was doing, other than the blinding need for reassurance, she stumbled down the hall to the console room. That was where she had found him, leather jacket discarded on a coral strut and his jumper sleeves rolled up. His upper half of his body was barely visible under the controls, but her pounding steps had alerted him to her presence for he had stilled his repairs.

A soft, "Doctor?" split the night, well relatively, air for she never knew what time it was anymore in the vortex.

He shifted and pulled himself out from under the tangled wires and up to face his new companion. He gently raised his brows, prodding her to continue (he was completely rubbish at finding words in this body). She fidgeted with the hem of her night shirt, and he took in the faint smell of tears that still lingered on her body. Without words, he extended his arms and she gratefully slumped into his solid form in relief.

"It was that-that _Dalek_," she mumbled into his shirt. She felt him stiffen, then hug her tighter.

"Rose Tyler," he breathed into her hair. He stayed quiet for a few more seconds, "Let's have a sit in the library." She just nodded and let him lead her down the halls till a familiar door came into view. They settled in the couch by the fire, and she leaned into him, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked gently. She just shook her head and burrowed further into his side. He wrapped his arm around her and she counted his breaths.

And that's what led her to this moment, feeling the steady double thrum of his hearts and drowsily blinking her blurry eyes. She may not know him, she may not know where this road will take her, but she wants nothing more than to be here, next to him.

That was the first night they slept next to each other, taking in the comfort and reassurance only a friend can give.

It was not the last.

Hours turned into days, turned into weeks, turned into months. Late night cuddles on the couch, even though he grouched about domestics, became more and more regular. He would read, or tinker with the some bit of technology, while Rose lounged next to him. If her head happened to find his shoulder more often than not, he never commented. And occasionally she would feel his hand ghost across her hair or neck in a comforting slide when he thought she was asleep.

His hand fit hers so well, and she couldn't bring herself to let it go. Nor could she bring herself breach that unknown barrier between them. She loved him, big ears and all. She wanted him, not just physically, but she wanted all of him: his loneliness, anger, passion, and brilliance. It would be fantastic, if only she could just take that step.

And they had _danced_. Well, she admits, not like _that_, but the emphasis needed to be there. When he had twirled her around the console it had been like she was floating on air. But then he withdrew, and she couldn't find him in the library. She knew why; their new shipmate. The dashing captain was just that, dashing and handsome and oh so flirty. She enjoyed a good flirt, but she thought the Doctor _knew._ He had to know how she felt for him, that Jack was just a friend. But as she searched the corridors and twists and turns that she sometimes knew and sometimes didn't, she finally gave up because couldn't find him.

Slumping back to her familiar door, a shade lighter of Tardis blue that the Doctor was quite happy about when he saw it, she opened it and was about to close it when she heard a noise across the way. An unfamiliar door was across from hers. From her time on the ship, she knew the Tardis changed things on a whim, and even grew to love the quirks she threw at the Doctor and her. This door was one she had never seen before and replaced the loo that was there earlier. It was a deep blue that was almost black and exuded a sense of age. It was slightly ajar and she could hear mutterings in a familiar Northern burr coming from within.

Smiling up at the ship and patting the wall by her door, she quickly crossed the hall and stepped into the unfamiliar doorway. There he was, hunched over an ancient desk cluttered with bits and bobs of alien tech that threw her for a loop. The rest of the room was dark but she could make out a fireplace off to the side with a low couch and two chairs framing it. The vague shape of a four poster bed was off to the other side. Smirking as his curses became stronger (and the Tardis wouldn't translate), she cleared her throat. The way he jumped and scrambled around would have been comical if she hadn't caught the deep look of loss and sadness that still lingered on his face.

Forgetting the fact she wasn't even invited in or that she had been frustrated with him for disappearing, she quickly strode over and hugged him, chair and all. The way the relaxed against her so quickly and bonelessly spoke volumes, and she ushered him over to the plush couch she saw earlier.

"I'm not going to leave you just cause we have a new friend, Doctor," she said as she pulled his head down to rest on her lap. Somehow, she knew what was wrong, even if he would never say it. She ran her hands over his close-cropped hair and tweaked his ear. "Have a little faith in me, ta." With that she smiled to let him know she was joking, then continued her actions while humming a soft tune she had heard on an alien planet the week before.

His eyes slid shut, "Never doubted you, Rose Tyler." She smiled and slid her eyes shut at the way he said her name, content that everything was right in her world. She didn't remember falling asleep, but she does remember the feeling of arms holding her, and then soft, cool sheets against her skin.

She wakes the next morning alone, but she takes in the Doctor's room with a satisfied stretch. She may not have breached the barrier between them, but she had started, he hadn't run, and that was something.

How was she to know that was the last time she would feel him so close in that body, and that everything would change so quickly?


End file.
